Research Case Study - Vegetable Genetic Improvement Network

For more detailled information and access to VeGIN data, please visit the main VeGIN site.

The Vegetable Genetic Improvement Network (VeGIN) was initiated with funding from Defra. The Network brings together research focused on key vegetable crops and encourages collaborations between industry and researchers to address how genetic improvement of crop varieties can contribute to a sustainable increase in food production to meet the twin challenges of food security and climate change.VeGIN brings together research on the genetic improvement of carrot, onion, leafy vegetables and salads and maintains its genetic resource collections in the Warwick Genetic Resources Unit (GRU). It benefits from knowledge arising from satellite projects funded by industry and other government funders, and provides the underpinning resources for such projects.

The major UK vegetable crops; Brassica, Lettuce, Carrot and Onion all make an important contribution to a healthy UK diet and our "5-a-day"

Pre breeding research to support sustainable farming of leafy vegetables and salads has delivered:

The initial task was to develop a carrot diversity set to assess genetic variation for resistance to key pests and diseases. A key network was established, building links with industry and other researchers.